


punch the rainbow

by verboseDescription



Series: Spiders And Friends [5]
Category: Marvel Noir, Spider-Gwen (Comics), Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)
Genre: reality glitches, the rubix cube is secretly very important
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-18
Updated: 2019-05-24
Packaged: 2020-01-16 03:37:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,538
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18513121
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/verboseDescription/pseuds/verboseDescription
Summary: “Are you saying an evil scientist beat you up to steal a kid toy?” Miles asks.“No, Miles,” Noir says seriously. “He beat me up to steal an anomaly that can’t be explained by any kind of science that exists in this world.”Saying Noir's rubix cube falls into the wrong hands might be putting it lightly. The last time Noir saw color in his home world, it created illusions from green smoke. He really doesn't want to know what five more colors could do.





	1. Black

**Author's Note:**

> So, this is basically a direct sequel to my last noir story: black and white but a friend all over  
> An important thing to keep in mind is that before Peni connected the dimensions, time passed differently, so Noir aged a couple more years than everyone else, but from their side of things, they haven't seen him in like, two years  
> Also, now Gwen has a symbiote, like in her comics, because I just think symbiotes are really neat

To say Miles was surprised to hear that the noir detective Peter Parker actually asked for help was kind of an understatement. Sure, Noir Peter was getting better about asking for help and working as a team, but he literally _refused_ to let anyone but Peni in his New York. But it had taken Peni a long time to sync up all of their world, and Miles was going to take advantage of that to see his favorite detective. And, yeah, as an afrolatino kid, he wasn’t super into the idea of going to the 30s at all, but if Peter’s asking for help, Miles is going to give some, you know?

Anyways, Peter B. and Gwen both come with him to Noir Pete’s detective office, where they’re informed that someone stole his Rubix cube.

“That’s… it?” Gwen asks.

“Yes,” Noir says seriously.

They all stare, because this is literally the _weirdest_ thing. There are currently four different people dressed as spiders in a small, black and white detective office. The office itself looks serious, like it’s a place people would go to file taxes, or to try and find a loved one they were starting to expect was long dead. It was not the place to complain about lost toys, even if they look like a handful of action figures.

“Who has it?” Peter B. asks. He sounds tired, like he already knows the answer.

“Victor Von Doom,” Noir replies. Peter B. starts to swear, then looks at Miles and covers his face with his shoulder.

“Did an evil scientist beat you up to steal a kid toy?” Miles asks, unsure of what exactly was going on.

“No, Miles,” Noir says seriously. “He beat me up to steal an anomaly that can’t be explained by any kind of science that exists in this world.”

“So this is a multiverse problem,” Peter B. says. “Where’s Peni? Isn’t this more her thing?”

“She’s busy.”

“Miguel?”

“We don’t need him.”

Gwen and Miles look at each other. Apparently, four people were the most Noir could deal with.

“So do you have any… friends in this depressing world of yours that might help?” Peter B asks.

“Friendship is as fleeting as a candle burning in the rain,” Noir says. “No matter what you do, you can’t keep the flame alive.”

“Okay. That’s dramatic as hell, but fine,” Peter B. says. “So what exactly is Doom doing?”

“Found a way to bring color to our universe,” Noir replies. “Only problem is, it ain’t as cute as it is in your worlds.”

He pulls out a handful of pictures and passes it around to the group. It’s definitely a black and white photo, but there’s a green fog slowly swarming through. The green pulses softly as Miles stares and his eyes blur. The high contrast of Noir’s world had already made him feel sick, but somehow, adding color made that feeling so much worse.

“My camera doesn’t have the right ink to capture this as it was. But we’re still seeing it. Peni’s running tests to see how dangerous it is. Not sure if this is just a world threat or a worlds, if you catch my meaning.”

 “And how is this related to the cube?” Gwen asks.

“It’s like magic,” Noir explains. “You introduce a color to our world, things start changing. I fought something like this, a little while back. Used it to make people see things that weren’t there. It might’ve been a first trial for what Doom has now. We don’t know what he wants with it, but it can’t be good. There’s a reason your gizmos take your colors when you come here. You look how you’re supposed to, you defy physics. It’s no surprise that’ll lead to something extraordinary.”

“So basically color just glitches your reality,” Peter B. says with a nod. “And that leads to superpowers?”

“To have colors is to defy physics,” Noir says. “To defy physics is to become god.”

There’s a pause. Noir’s so dramatic sometimes, but Miles can’t think of a reason why he shouldn’t be right now. Miles looks at Noir’s desk. There’s several sheets of newspapers. None of them are in English. Yiddish, maybe? He wishes he could read them. Wishes that he could have at least some not terrible news right now.

“After I fought Mysterio, I started looking into some things,” Noir adds eventually. “I knew he was hired by someone, and I knew the guy must have been mighty powerful if he’s giving a limp biscuit like that fella something so strong. Thought it was Fisk at first, honestly, but he’s not too big on giving gifts.”

 “How many heroes you got here?” Peter B. asks. “Enough to fight off a new host of super powered threats?”

“There’s me,” Noir says with a sigh. “And Daredevil. That’s it. Heard of a fella calling himself Ironman, but I sure as hell ain’t calling up a capitalist.”

“And that’s why you called us?” Miles guesses.

“This may be too big for even me,” Noir says.

 “Yeah, man,” Peter B. says. There’s a lot of pity in his voice. “This is a _big_ problem. It sounds kind of like you’re going to have a pretty sucky Passover.”

“I had a pretty great Purim,” Noir says with a sigh. “I suppose having two good holidays in a row is too much to ask for.”

“Did you go to temple dressed like that?” Peter B. asks.

“Of course not,” Noir tells him. “I took off my hat.”

Peter B. snorts.

“In any case, we think we might of found one of Doom’s hide outs. I’m hoping we’ll find some research notes, maybe see if they’re planning on giving anyone else power they don’t deserve,” Noir says. “You don’t have to come along, but I’d really appreciate it if you looked after my city while we get this mess sorted out.”

“Of course we will!” Miles tells him. Gwen nods her head furiously.

“We’ll do everything we can,” Peter B. agrees. “So what’s the plan?”

 

 

Peter B. gets put in charge of finding the 1930s Daredevil while Miles and Gwen go with the other Peter to scout out a secret base. Peter doesn’t like the idea of his alternate self bringing two kids on such a potentially dangerous mission—who knew what kind of traps the Doom of this world had?—but he couldn’t deny they were good choices. Miles was getting pretty good at turning invisible, and the symbiote Gwen picked up—which he still didn’t approve of, by the way—let her change her outfit at will. And who was going to bother a kid they couldn’t see and a girl who looked like a new intern? And hey, they _were_ going to have to learn stealth one day. Might as well learn it from someone who knew.

Besides, even though it’s grandpa Peter’s dimension, he’s the only one who actually knows Daredevil. Sure, Miles had met his Daredevil once or twice, and Gwen knew a Matt Murdock, but they didn’t know the guy like Peter did. Peni apparently was pretty close to her DD, but the kid was busy, and Noir said they couldn’t bother her.

Which was why he was the one swinging around ye olde Hell’s Kitchen to try and find the guy.

It’s not hard to find him, honestly. It never is. Even in a world without a rainbow, double D’s colorful personality really stood out.

Basically, Peter just found him punching out some guys and shouted until he turned around.

“Hey man,” Peter says. “You don’t know me, but I’m from another dimension. I’m here to warn you about Doom.”

“What is he up to _now,”_ Daredevil groans. He’s taking it better than Peter expected, which Peter can’t really appreciate because he’s too busy staring at DD’s outfit.

It’s _painfully_ circus. He’s wearing _tights_ and a sleeveless unitard. He’s got no pants! And even though it’s sleeveless, his gloves almost go up to his armpits which makes him look like a cross between a ballerina and a boxer which, to be fair, is very Matt Murdock.

“He might be experimenting with a bunch of new weapon ideas,” Peter says. “We—uh, Spider-Man, I mean—wanted to keep you updated because it might get pretty bad out here. He’s already given out something still in testing to one guy, so chances are, he’ll find another. And he’s definitely not the kind of guy who cares if a weapon’s stable or not before he gives it out.”

Daredevil’s face twists into a scowl. Yeah, buddy. No one’s going to like what comes next.

“Where’s your proof?” he asks, because of course nothing is easy with Daredevil. Peter B. waves his arms, purposely exaggerating the gesture so Daredevil could pick up his annoyance with his radar vision.

“My proof is all the supervillains that are gonna come knocking at your door, man,” Peter B. tells him. “You want to do something about it? Find Spider-Man.”

 

Noir leads Gwen and Miles to what looks like a very normal, but very fancy building on the other side of the city.

“No abandoned factories, huh?” Gwen quips.

“If people thought it was abandoned, they’d use it for their advantage,” Noir tells her. “There’s too many without homes. No one’s going to pass up an opportunity to get a roof over their head. No, it’s best they just think it’s private property. We all know who owns the police. It’s not like they’d come, even if they saw something.”

“Oh,” Gwen says. She forgets how hardcore the 30s are.

“If you got a stealth mode, now’s the time to use it,” Noir adds. Miles disappears immediately. Gwen concentrates on her outfit as she feels Venom slowly swirling into spiders and turning her suit black. She gives an experimental wiggle. With Peni’s perception generator, Gwen’s colors have been pretty much sucked from her body, aside from brief flashes of blue from her shoes—the generator was still a work in progress. In her dimension, she might have been spotted, but in this world of solid darkness, she’s barely perceptible.

“Neat,” Miles says.

“Spiders,” Noir comments. He looks a little sick. “Well. Come on, then.”

The three scale the wall and slide into a window. Gwen places her hand on the ground once they get inside and a group of spiders scurry from her costume and start moving across the floor.

“You, uh, got a few more tricks up your sleeve since I saw you last,” Noir comments. Dude’s definitely got some kind of fear of spiders. He’s so far away from Gwen, he’s on the wall.

“They’re not going to hurt you,” Gwen says. “They’re just scouts. I figured we could use all the help we could get.”

“Right,” Noir says, slowly climbing down. He looks at the hallway in front of them. “You kids take the left. I’ll go right. We can regroup back here. Try and stay quiet. Here.”

Noir pulls out a camera out of his jacket pocket and hands it to Gwen.

“In case you find anything,” Noir says. He’s already heading towards the right. Guy’s not really big on instructions. Makes sense, since he’s always working alone.

Miles appears next to Gwen with a soft pop.

“Does he not know we have phones?” he asks. “Also, where was he keeping that?”

“I question the detective about as much as I question the pig,” Gwen tells him. “And that’s not at all, for my own sanity.”

Miles makes a noise of agreement. Other spider people were _so_ weird.

The two teenagers start making their way down the hallway by crawling on the wall. There didn’t seem to be anyone around, but neither wanted to ruin the mission by casually strolling into danger. They stop by several doors before they see it. There’s a faint red glow coming from one of the rooms. Gwen very gently rips the door from its hinges.

“What?” she says. “It was locked.”

“They’re totally going to know we were here,” Miles says. He points the camera towards the center of the room, where a glowing red cube floats in some kind of containment shield, and takes a picture. “Is that part of my old rubix cube?”

“It sure looks like it could give you superpowers,” Gwen notes. She walks closer. “Maybe they’ve got some files in the desk?”

Miles grabs Gwen’s arm before she can get to the unopened drawer.

“Can’t your spiders, I don’t know, open it?” he asks. “Instead of causing property damage and telling the bad guys that we’re totally onto them?”

“I can try,” Gwen says. She’d kind of forgotten she could use stealth, especially while in costume. The Kingpen of her world always seemed to know what she was up to, so it’s not like there was any point for her to hide it. She plucks a spider out of her suit, and it crawls into the drawer, opening it from the inside.

“Score,” Miles says. He gives her a fist bump.

“Score,” Gwen agrees. It’s hard to see the papers in the low light, but they’re obviously research. Some of the papers have photos clipped to them. Past subjects, Gwen assumes. Gotta test out your super villain serum somehow. She passes the papers to Miles, who dutifully snaps a picture of each and every one. Gwen pauses at one of the photos. It’s… in color. Or at least, the person in it was. Gwen’s stomach sinks as she recognizes the face. There’s a few new scars, but she’d know him anywhere.

That smirk. That suit. That carrot-red hair.

No.

Oh no.

She wasn’t going to do this again. She wasn’t going to let him _ruin_ her _life._ He had already fucked up her dimension, fucked up her chances of being anything but Spider-Gwen for the rest of her life, and now he was working with _Doom?_

“Gwen,” Miles says softly. “You good?”

Inside her head, Venom’s begging for a costume change. She wants teeth, sharper that his. A tongue that could smack him to the ground before he could ever touch her.

“Y-yeah,” Gwen says. “I didn’t think—He’s bringing people from outside his dimension. Look. How the hell did he manage that?”

“Matt Murdock?” Miles says, looking at the file in question. “Like the lawyer?”

“No,” Gwen says softly. “Like the Kingpen.”

 

 

Noir’s spider god alerts him far enough ahead of time that he’s already locked the door to the research room he’d been investigating and out in the hall when he sees Miles running towards him, Gwen gasping as he drags her along.

“What’s wrong?” Noir asks immediately, rushing towards them.

“I don’t know,” Miles replies quickly. “She’s freaking out. We were looking at some files and she saw someone from her world, and then her suit started freaking out.”

Her suit was still freaking out. Spiders were jumping up and quickly being sucked back in, rapidly changing from white to black to white again all while Gwen breathed heavily.

“I think I’m having…,” Gwen gasps. “Having a panic attack.”

“What can we do to help?” Noir asks.

“Home,” Gwen says. She slides to the ground and clutches her hands. “Please.”

Noir pats her on the back and activates his gizmo. A familiar burst of colors appears, and he and Miles help her through the portal.

“Sorry, detective,” Gwen mumbles into his arm. She looks like she’s already calming down. Good. “I ruined it.”

“You didn’t ruin a thing,” Noir tells her. “Trips like that get cut short all the time. No need to worry about it. You good to tell us what you saw?”

“Thought he was dead,” Gwen mumbles. Her costume’s back to normal, but she still seems stressed. “Gotta make sure he’s not coming back.”

With that, she swings away.

“Gwen!” Miles yelps. Noir grabs him and pushes them both into a running start.

“Come on,” he says. “That girl waits for no one.”

All of the buildings they swing past hurt Noir’s eyes. Even with his tinted goggles, Gwen’s world was a lot, especially for a first visit. He knows she tried her best, but Peni had taken her sweet time finding his world again. He wasn’t bitter about it—if it wasn’t for her, he’d have to deal with this alone—but he wished he had had more time with them. While he was preparing for the war, his friends were getting to know each other, fighting villains he’d never get the chance to save them from, learning things about themselves he might never see.

It wasn’t bitterness to know you had been left out of something. When Noir had first met Gwen, she was just a girl trying to survive high school. But now, she was two years older and bonded with a creature that made the other Peters shiver with fear and distrust. And the spiders… Every time he saw them, he thought of the night he had gotten bit. How he saw the spiders swarm over Osborn’s men until there was nothing left, not even a bone.

Gwen’s was a dangerous power. And he trusted her with it, of course, he knew her.

But he’d trust her more if he knew exactly what the hell it was that was growing inside her.


	2. Red

**Spider Friends Group Chat**

**Hey everybody! Now that we’re all here together, it’s important to stay up to date on all the latest spider news. This chat isn’t JUST for multiverse updates, but a place to hang with everybody!**

**There aren’t too many rules, just remember to be kind and respectful of your fellow spiders! Not every universe has the same technology, so be mindful of that and help them adjust. Miguel and I will NOT hesitate to block anyone who purposely starts fights or insults others. (We’re looking at you, Superior. You KNOW what you did >:() **

**If you have any problems, feel free to come to me (Peni) or Miguel. Have fun, everybody! <3**

**Also NO ONE set their name as Peter Parker or Spider-Man there’s just TOO MANY of you and you’re NOT going to fight over that. The only “Alpha Parker” here is me.**

**SP//dr:** Soooooo I have good news and bad news and the bad news is that Peter’s dimension miiiight be falling about

 **Monochrome:** Well, shoot.

 **SP//dr:** But the good news is that knowing there’s a problem is the first step to solving a problem!!! And also that Rubix cubes don’t have a lot of colors, which means the damage could be worse! But it’s not!

 **Ghost Spider:** peni that’s not really good news that’s just not as bad news

 **SP//dr:** I’m doing my best :/

 **Monochrome:** You’re doing perfectly, kitten.

 **SP//dr:** Thanks! Also, Gwen, you okay? Miles said you weren’t doing too well

 **Ghost Spider:** yeah I just wanted to check on my friends. Sorry I ruined the secret mission

 **Monochrome:** You didn’t ruin anything, doll. We’re all just glad you’ve got back your fighting spirit.

 **SP//dr:** Yeah!! Also, I DO have a theory. Since the problem’s color, I’m guessing the powers will go away if you stick them in a dimension with color. The only problem is, nothing in any of our worlds are black and white like Peter is. So even if going swapping Earths should in theory work, the perception filters might cause some weird feedback and we could end up with a totally different problem.

 **The One and Only Peter Porker:** Well that sure sounds like a mess! Glad I don’t gotta deal with that

 **The One and Only Peter Porker:** Unless you do need me to come over and help?

 **Monochrome:** Not yet. Appreciate the offer, though.

 **SP//dr:** He’s doing his homework now!! Don’t bother him.

 **The One and Only Peter Porker:** Texting while trying to work? For shame!

 **Monochrome:** I can multitask.

 **PBNTired:** wait wait hw??? How old is noir?

 **Monochrome:** Did we not go over this? I’m twenty-five.

 **PBNTired:** youre like a fucking baby. I bet we could sneak you into miles school and they wouldn’t even question it

 **SP//dr:** Peter, this is you you’re insulting

 **PBNTired:** I had a babyface! I know it! But that means you still have a babyface and im sure as hell going to rub it in

 **PBNTired:** wait, didn’t time pass super fast for you before we found your world? Which means u were like 19 when we first met

 **Monochrome:** Peter, I don’t see what this has to do with anything.

 **PBNTired:** if we had gone to mcdonalds theyd of asked you if you wanted a kids meal

 **Monochrome:** The next time someone asks me my age, I’m telling them I’m fifty.

 **PBNTired:** id believe it

 **SP//dr:** Anyways, if you’re done bullying Peter, we should maybe come up with a plan? If I can get a piece of the cube, I can try and see what was done to it. Maybe reverse engineer the powers, or find a way to temporarily dampen them.

 **SP//dr:** Also, be nice to Peter’s Daredevil!!! He’s new, and he doesn’t even have a screen reader. This is the first time he’s even heard of a multiverse. Be nice to him.

 **Monochrome:** Yes, ma’am.

 

 

Peni says that because Doom’s trying to militarize the colors, they need to be more careful about making jumps. The space in between worlds is getting more fragile. They don’t want to be the ones to push things over the edge.

They still go to Noir, of course, because dude needs help. Peni installs an emergency switch in their goobers that’ll jump them all (Her, Miles, Gwen, Peter B., and Porker) to one dimension, and then bring them together to Noir’s when pressed. The less portals, the better, but that didn’t mean they had to restrict their visits, especially in times of danger.

Noir tries to keep them updated on his situation. Peni’s trying to teach him how to text less formally, but everything he sends still kind of sounds like listening to a police scanner. The gist of it is essentially that he’s been getting along with Daredevil and things are getting suspiciously quiet. When Gwen stops by Noir’s office for a visit, he informs her that crime’s going down, but he sounds really angry when he says it.

“We’ve been finding some patterns in the crooks that’ve been laying low,” Noir says. “Most of them have been seen with one of Doom’s brunos before they disappeared. This might just be the calm before the storm.”

“So what?” Gwen asks. “They’re all getting carried away so Doom can go mad science them into super villains?”

She doesn’t like the sound of that, but she doesn’t want to tell Noir that. After the way she had left last time, Gwen was determined to prove she could handle this.

“It might not be them who’s getting the powers,” Daredevil says. “You get a bunch of henchmen with powers, the first thing you’re going to want to do is take out your competition.”

“But stealth isn’t Doom’s MO,” Noir shoots back. “No way he’s going to get a whole army ready and tell no one.”

“It’s hard to describe what you can’t see,” Daredevil replies. “They don’t know what color is. All they know is that it’s something new and frightening, and no one wants to say that they’re seeing reality break apart.”

“You have a point,” Noir admits. DD gives a small smile.

Daredevil really likes Noir, Gwen thinks. He hasn’t been a hero for as long, which is really funny to B for some reason, and that means he kind of wants to prove himself. Spider-Man isn’t everything he wants to be, but it’s pretty clear to Gwen that part of the reason Daredevil’s here in the first place is because he’s always secretly wanted some kind of hero mentor. Gwen gets that, totally, but that’s how she ended up befriending _her_ Matt Murdock and that super didn’t end well, and even though Noir’s like, the best, Gwen thinks DD might need to reconsider getting into multiverse shenanigans just because a cool guy asked him to help out. She totally got it, though. Like, no judgement.

“You haven’t seen any people in colors, have you?” Gwen asks. It’s been quiet enough that she thinks she can forget the paper she saw and pretend that Murderdock totally isn’t wrecking havoc in Noir’s world, but she’s still worried. Venom thinks he just might be lawyering for Doom, but that doesn’t make Gwen any less afraid. He’s a really scary lawyer, after all.

“Um,” Daredevil says. He doesn’t like reminding them he’s blind, even though they all know, and even if they didn’t she would because when he introduced himself, Noir asked if he was that blind acrobat who’d gotten famous when they were kids and DD had to admit that, yeah, being blind kind of costs a lot so he needed a side gig even though he had been like, ten. Noir had said this was “neat.” Gwen hadn’t actually been there for that exchange, but both Peni and Miles had found it so funny they had to text her about it.

“Have you seen any people that smell like they defy physics recently?” Gwen amends. She’s not sure if Daredevil can sense color, but she figures scientific anomalies must at least smell like something.

“There’s a scent, but it’s kind of spread out,” Daredevil says. “Like it’s just coming from everywhere.”

“Yikes,” Gwen says. She pets down the spiders that form on her left arm.

“If we find the guy you’re looking for, I’ll put a bullet between his eyes for you,” Noir promises, which would sound a lot more threatening if Gwen didn’t know he hadn’t taken his guns off safety for at least a year.

“If you see him, you should run,” Gwen says. “He’s…”

She wants to say that he’s crazy, but she thinks that’s a bit of a hypocritical insult for her to say, considering she had just been diagnosed with a form of psychosis. Of course, they probably don’t even know what that means, and she’s not really in the mood to explain how her court-appointed psychiatrist had told her that even though she only hallucinated during head injuries, it didn’t make her any less delusional than someone who just happened to see a talking pig every now and again. Also, she really didn’t want to explain that she only hallucinated Porker. It was kind of weird. Noir was definitely going to think it was kind of weird. Miles agreed that it was kind of weird.

“He doesn’t care about anything,” Gwen concludes. “All he wants is to go out causing as much trouble as he can.”

“I don’t want to brag or anything,” Daredevil says. “But I’m pretty sure the three of us can take down one man.”

Gwen wants to tell him that it’s not always about physical strength. Fighting Murderdock had made her give up her secret identity—which had led to a brief time in juvie, a new school and the court-appointed psychiatrist—because there was no way she could take down everyone a Kingpen had on his side. He had threatened her dad, Em Jay and the girls, and even Ben and May. There was no way just one Spider-Gwen could protect all those people from ninja assassins. That’s what made Murderdock really scary—he had connections. And even robbed of that, traveling all the way to a different universe, Gwen’s certain he could find more.

Gwen can’t help but wonder if he’d threaten the friends of his alternate self. She likes Daredevil, honestly. He’s soft and kind of chubby and full of hope and a naivety she’d never knew Matt Murdock could have. She really doesn’t want him to meet Murderdock.

She didn’t want Noir to kill him either, though. Gwen’s pretty sure he’d still see it as a victory. And she’s _not_ letting Murderdock win.

“You have to call me if you see him, though,” Gwen says. “I know I freaked out before, but. I know how to deal with him. I can make the best plan of action.”

Noir looks at her for a while, like he’s assessing how much truth there is to her statement.

“You beat him once before, right?” Noir says finally. “Bet you can do it again. Don’t worry, kid. He’s your villain. And that means he’s your problem.”

“Thank you,” Gwen says. “I won’t let you down, Detective. I promise.”

 

They end up sneaking into another building, because Gwen’s trick suit is real handy and so’s Daredevil’s super senses. Noir’s hoping this one is the actual testing facility because even though fighting a horde of powered villains isn’t his idea of a fun night, at least it means he knows where they all are. Peni comes too, because the kid’s getting pretty good at stealth for a kitten running around in a behemoth.

Even if it’s not Doom, whoever’s been hanging out in the location they’ve found is undoubtably up to something. Daredevil had been hearing suspicious whispers of something all week and if that didn’t cement the danger, the fact that they had all been immediately attacked sure did.

“I hate these guys!” Gwen yells, punching one of the trigger men in his face. No sign of any magic yet, but that only meant the worst was yet to come.

“Do you think they knew we were coming?” Peni asks from her robot, webbing a host of brunos to the wall. “We didn’t even know we were coming! I thought this was going to happen Tuesday!”

“Must of tripped an alarm,” Noir says. His fist connects with someone’s face with a satisfying crunch. Probably broke the man’s nose. Good.

“Not an alarm,” a voice says. Even before Noir swerves to see the man, he can see his shitty grin. Someone who had simply strolled into the fray, casually walking with his cane. He’s wearing colors. Something bright that reminds Noir of blood. What was the color of blood again? That’s right. They called it red. And that was what the man was. A grinning face in a sea of red. “Just me.”

“Murderdock,” Gwen hisses. Her suit shifts again, but only for a moment. A tongue appears long enough for her to use it to throw a man across the room, and then it’s gone.

 “Well, doesn’t that just blow my wig?” Murderdock asks in an accent that makes Noir wonder if he’s being mocked. “A spider _woman!_ And she sure sounds curved at me!”

“Shut up,” Gwen says.

“What’s wrong, Gwen-zelle?” Murderdock asks. “Still think I’m a crumb? A wet sock? Well, I’m still the Kingpin, girl. You can try to throw me in the big house, but Murdocks don’t go down that easy.”

“Murdocks?” Daredevil repeats softly. Murderdock tilts his head toward Daredevil and his grin grows wider.

“Sound familiar?” He mocks. “The name’s Matt Murdock. Attorney-at-law. Oh, and here’s a fun fact! I’m from another dimension.”

Daredevil freezes. SP//dr swoops beside him, knocking out a few of the leftover goons trying to take advantage of the man’s surprise. Noir can see the Daredevil’s face twisting. He had told the guy about dimensions, had said that the other Peter he had met was a version of Noir, but coming face to face with yourself—especially one working for a guy like Doom—was a whole nother story.

“But you can’t be,” Daredevil insists. “You’re…”

“I’m you, kiddo,” Murderdock says. “I just have a few more tricks up my sleeve.”

At first, it looks like the color is bleeding out of his suit, but then Noir realizes that color isn’t leaving. It’s growing. The longer they stare, the more it bleeds out into the world around them. And then he just—

Lunges.

Even with his enhanced senses, Noir can barely see the man move. If it hadn’t been for the streak following him, he would have assumed that Daredevil had thrown himself onto the ground.

“What happened to you?” Gwen gasps.

“What happened is you almost let the Hand kill me, girl,” Murderdock says. “I figure a little human experimentation is nothing compared to that.”

Murderdock glitches and its… horrifying. There’s so much red, and it’s all so bright and he’s—he’s laughing. Noir knows how much glitching can hurt, and he can’t imagine brushing it off like it had barely tickled.

“I have a plan,” Peni says. “Keep him busy.”

“You think you can keep me busy now?” Murderdock mocks. “I was dangerous before. But now, I’m unstoppable.”

“Is that why you did this?” Noir demands. “You put your life in Doom’s hands for the power? Scared you were going to get beaten by a kid again?”

“Hardly,” Murderdock snarls, stepping closer. “The girl caught me off guard. If I was at my full strength then, I never would have lost.”

“Then prove it,” Noir challenges. There’s the tell-tale glitches of a portal, and suddenly they’re all in another world. Peni’s, Noir assumes. They’re on top of a building, but he can still recognize some of the city below.

Murderdock tilts his head to the side, sniffing around like a bloodhound on a trail. Then he turns back to face Noir and laughs.

“Another dimension, huh?” he says. “You think that’s going to change anything? Or—oh, did you call your _friends?_ Four on one wasn’t enough?”

“I have a plan,” Peni says again, her voice trembling slightly. “You’re not going to win.”

“Kid,” Murderdock says. “I could crush that mech you’re in right now with one hand behind my back.”

“I won’t let you touch her,” Noir snarls, raising his gun. Murderdock just smiles. Of course. Noir’s not going to shoot him. Noir doesn’t want to shoot anyone, especially not a man with the same name as his new pal. Murderdock can probably smell it on him. Smell how pathetic he really is.

“Where are we?” Daredevil asks urgently. “The city—it smells different, what’s…”

Gwen shoots Daredevil a look of pity.

“It’s a different world,” Noir says, thumping Daredevil on the back. “Confusing, I know, but it might just give us the advantage, so stay sharp.”

Daredevil gives a curt nod and Murderdock shakes his head.

“You idiots don’t know what you’re doing,” he says. “Hell, between the four of you, I’d say only two ever even got any real training, and honestly? That’s just sad. Especially since I got you that gift card. I mean, come on girl. You can’t beat me if you’ve never set foot in a dojo.”

“Wait, that gift card was for real?” Gwen asks. She looks as surprised as Noir feels. He really doesn’t like that this is the kind of relationship she has with someone who seems genuinely intent on killing them.

“Why would I send you a fake gift card?” Murderdock asks. “You think I’m going to Photoshop a fucking fake logo just to mess with you?”

“I don’t know how you spend your free time!” Gwen replies, throwing her hands up in frustration. “All I know about your interests is that you really like killing people!”

“I do, don’t I?” Murderdock agrees. “So I should get back to it, then.”

To Noir’s surprise, he doesn’t lunge at them again. Instead, Murderdock jumps down from the rooftop. Noir feels his heart stop.

“Civilians,” he says. “He’s going after _civilians.”_

“I told you,” Gwen says. “All he wants is to make people miserable. We have to stop him.”

Noir didn’t need to be told twice. He grabs Daredevil and swings down, examining the wreckage that Murderdock had left in his wake. Luckily, it didn’t seem like he was actually trying to hurt anyone. Noir had been wrong about that. So what was his game, then? Was he just playing with them? Biding his time till he could find a way to _really_ hurt them?

“That’s weird,” Peni notes, pausing to scan a billboard. “It looks like all the red drained out.”

“Did we just make him _stronger?”_ Gwen asks.

“No,” Noir realizes. “He’s running away for a _reason._ He doesn’t know what this world did to him, either. This is good. Means we’re all on the same page.”

“If he’s absorbing the red, he should be theoretically becoming more powerful…,” Peni says. “But if he’s running away, then maybe it’s overloading him somehow?”

“Do you think it’s hurting him?” Daredevil asks, worried. “I mean, that’s great for us, we need the upper hand, but…”

 “We can feel bad about it after we beat him up,” Gwen reasons. Daredevil nods. All four of them speed up, following the trail of destruction and color loss.

“If he was really trying to run away, he’d doing a pretty bad job of keeping a low profile,” Peni notes. She pauses and holds one of SP//dr’s hands out. “Wait. He didn’t go that way.”

“I think the path is looking pretty clear,” Gwen says, gesturing to the holes in the sidewalk in front of them.

“It’s a fake out,” Peni explains. “I’m picking up some extra dimensional energy coming from an alleyway. Come on.”

“That robot of her’s sure is useful,” Daredevil comments as they follow the girl’s lead.

They find Murderdock panting, resting his body on the side of a building. He grins at Noir, sharp and menacing, but it’s clear he’s not in any shape to fight. Doesn’t mean he wasn’t going to do some damage, though. The color in his suit had bled out, but it still surrounded him, pulsing like some kind of living armor. Noir didn’t like the looks of it.

“Good job, heroes,” Murderdock says, voice dripping with sarcasm. “Ya caught me.”

“You look sick,” Gwen says, suspicious. She’s thinking it’s all an act, but Noir doesn’t think anyone can fake the mixture of queasiness and malevolence Murderdock has on his face.

“Guess you got a fighting chance then,” Murderdock grins. His teeth are just a little too sharp. _Why_ are his teeth so sharp? “Lucky you.”

The red around him pulses and he gasps, trying desperately to stay upright.

“Should we…. Web him?” Gwen asks. “I don’t really want to touch that.”

Noir’s about to respond when he sees a shadow hanging over them. Noir’s spider god isn’t offering any warnings, so he assumes they’re not in any more danger, but the shadow cuts an impressive figure. Gwen notices him too, quickly changing her attention from Murderdock to the figure atop a nearby building. In a city with as much lights as Peni’s, it’s not that hard to make out who he is. He’s wearing spiked pads on his shoulders atop actual shoulder pads, and they’re connected to his suit with a small belt. The shin guards connected to his boots aren’t spiked, but the kneepads above them are. If the horns on his helmet hadn’t given him away, the initial on the belt across his chest sure did.

“SP//dr,” the man says, jumping down to face them. “Now, what brings you to my side of the city?”

“Hey Daredevil,” Peni says. “Nice to see you too.”

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry it took so long for a second chapter! I knew I posted the first chapter too early, but i really wanted to make a joke about Passover, but then finals happened and yadda yadda. But I got a new computer, and I didn't want to have to email a word doc of an almost finished chapter to myself so here it is!!  
> There's no real reason I'm including Daredevil 14512 aside from the fact I really like him and his design. My brother says he looks silly, but I love him. please google an image of him.


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